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The 1933 Wisconsin milk strike was a series of strikes conducted by a cooperative group of Wisconsin dairy farmers in an attempt to raise the price of milk paid to producers during the Great Depression. Three main strike periods occurred in 1933, with length of time and level of violence increased during each one. The cooperative milk pool attempted to coordinate their efforts with larger farm groups, specifically the National Farm Holiday Association and Wisconsin Farmers' Holiday Association. However, during each strike, the larger farm holiday groups ended their strikes prematurely leaving the milk pool to conduct its strike alone. ==Rationale== ''Wisconsin's Past and Present'' lists the price of evaporated milk from 1927 to 1929 as $4.79 / 100 lb with 46% to farmers, 33% to manufacturers and 21% to merchandisers. That price fell to an average of $3.48 / 100 lb, with individual farmers receiving a smaller percentage of the proceeds: 30.5% to farmers, 43% to manufacturers and 26.5% to merchandisers between 1930 to 1933. This decrease, combined with inflation during the Depression, put small farmers in an extremely difficult position. Farmers who produced milk for bottling were able to remain solvent, but those who produced milk for cheese, butter and other uses were driven into poverty. This created a kind of civil war between the two types of dairy farmers. Milk to be bottled was largely unaffected by the strikes. In the 1930s, Wisconsin was the largest producer of milk in the United States.〔(1930 Decennial Census, 1929 Agricultural data tables ). 11.052 billion US gallons of milk were produced in the United States in 1929; Wisconsin was the top producer, producing around 10% of milk in the U.S. WI 1.2 Billion US gallons of milk, MN 825 million US gallons of milk, NY 800 million US gallons of milk.〕 According to the 1930 decennial census, there were more than 125,000 dairy farms in the state. 63% of all land in Wisconsin was farmland and 71% of that land was used for dairy farming.〔(1930 Decennial Census ). of Dairy farmland, for farms of all types. of land in Wisconsin.〕 Methods employed in the strikes were initially to simply not sell milk unless a previously agreed upon price had been met. When the strikers realized they were grossly outnumbered and that some of the members were selling at a reduced price, they resorted to roadblocks to prevent milk deliveries to the manufacturers. Fixed road blocks were established and trucks were turned back if they contained milk. If they refused to turn back, the strikers forcibly dumped the milk at the roadside. In the early strikes, the deliveries simply took alternate routes to avoid the fixed roadblocks. During later strikes, the strikers took to the roads in search of delivery trucks and forced them to turn back as they were found. When they couldn't stop the deliveries, the strikers sometimes resorted to tainting the delivered milk with kerosene or oil, or in a few cases, throwing bombs at the creameries. The state attempted to get milk to market by breaking up the road blocks or escorting convoys carrying milk to their destinations. Tear gas was employed to disburse larger groups of strikers and in one instance guardsmen with fixed bayonets forced farmers from their position. Railways and interurban trains were used to bypass the roadblocks, but some rail lines were blocked by strikers and at least one freight yard was infiltrated resulting in the dumping of the milk in the yard. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1933 Wisconsin milk strike」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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